A Very Cupcake-y Post

Wow, I didn't mean to slack on writing in here! Sorry for the absence, but things have been pretty busy in England. Mick had his stag weekend in London all day Saturday and stayed the night with his best man and some other friends. I took the train up to meet him (all by myself!) Sunday midday. He and his friend were in the middle of gorging on a giant fry up breakfast. We met up with his friend Gus, as well, and saw The Inbetweeners at a cinema in Piccadilly Circus. The Inbetweeners is a very popular sitcom in Britain. It just finished its last season and so they made a movie. We had a bit of stroll around the City- through St. James' Park and past Buckingham Palace down to Victoria Station. We caught an evening train home. It was a really nice day.
Today we woke up early and headed into Chichester because I had a dentist appointment, then we came back home. I crashed out and had a nap on the couch before heading back into Chichester for my final dress fitting which didn't really happen because the friggen seamstress who picked the dress up from the shop and brought it back a few days later DIDN'T ACTUALLY DO THE ALTERATIONS. I felt bad for the girls in the shop because it wasn't their fault and they were falling all over themselves apologizing. They had no idea she hadn't done the alterations. And Natalie (the girl Mick's mum and I got locked in the shop with. Remember?) had a nice little surprise for me. She remembered me mentioning when we booked these fittings back in July that this particular one was the day before my birthday.
"Tomorrow's your birthday right?" And she disappeared into the back room. "We wanted to get you something..." And she reappeared with a darling little cupcake wrapped in a tiny paper basket from a bakery down the street. I was ridiculously touched and gave both the girls in the shop a hug. "I guess, given the situation, it's a good thing we had a cupcake to soften the blow!"

I left the shop and called Mick's mum (who was leaving work early to meet me) then saw her walking towards me. I told her the news and that I was going back Thursday for my actual fitting. She saw my cupcake and decided we should go to the bakery where Natalie got it and have a snack. We each had a cupcake and picked out a chocolate croissant to bring home for Mick (one of his very favorite things in the world).



While I was walking from the bus stop to the dress shop before any of this had happened, I couldn't help but smile. The sky was a bit cloudy and I had time to kill, so I got a drink from a cafe and wandered around a few shops, dreaming about the day when I'm allowed to work and can actually have money, and looking for possible gifts for Mick's birthday. It's not for 3 weeks, but it's not often that I'm out without him so I thought I'd get a head start. I wandered the cobbly streets of one of my favorite British cities (so far) and just felt really, really happy. In that moment, despite my multiple worries about visas and not having a job or money or a car, it didn't matter, because I've done the right thing. I made the right decision. I left my world behind for a new one I adore in order to be with someone I love. Then, after Mick's mum and I had met up she went into one store while I visited a card shop to see what kinds of cards they had. By the time Mick's birthday rolls around we'll be married, so I headed to the Husband Birthday Card Section. It felt really strange to be looking at cards that say "to my lovely Husband" or "to my fantastic Husband" and "to my perfect Husband on his birthday." WTF? I felt like such an impostor, standing in that section, looking at cards that such grown up women by for their grown up husbands. I'm not a grown up woman, and Mick certainly isn't a grown up man. We're just kids playing at being grown up! At least that's how it feels, because really, no matter how old you are, you still feel like a 6 year old version of yourself wiggling your loose teeth out so you can get your tooth fairy money even if your tooth is barely loose (which I stole from Mick because I just learned today that he used to do this). Anyway! Point being, it was pretty crazy to be standing in a card shop in England where I now live looking for a card for my soon-to-be husband, who I'm marrying next week. Bonkers! But if there's anything I've learned in almost 25 years it's that life is just that--- bonkers.


Much love.